The one mile track of Phoenix Raceway will be a bit of an experiment for the drivers after NASCAR made some changes to the aero package for the Cup Series cars that include a two inch spoiler and changes that lower the downforce of the car as much as 30 percent.

During the inspection process on Friday, NASCAR confiscated the hood louvers from the four Hendrick Motorsports cars.  While not specifying why, NASCAR competition officials stated that the louvers needed further examination back at the NASCAR R&D center in Concord, North Carolina.  No penalties were issued to HMS and they were allowed to replace the confiscated louvers.  Any penalties would be assessed next week.

Phoenix is the fourth race of the 36 race season; Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez are the only two drivers who have finished all three of the races in the top 10.

NASCAR gave the teams a 50 minute practice session on Friday with Kyle Larson leading the field.  On Saturday, the Cup Series drivers make their qualifying runs to set the field.

Divided into two groups, Ty Dillon is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run form Group A and posts a time of 28.752 seconds for the United Rentals Work United 500.

The top five drivers form group A and the top five drivers from group B will all make a second round of qualifying to determine who will sit on the pole.

Corey LaJoie was the first driver to break the 28 second mark with a time of 27.988 seconds around the one mile track.

Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell, and William Byron will all move on to round two form Group A.

BJ McLeod is the first driver from Group B on the track and posts a time of 28.194 seconds.

Chase Briscoe is the third driver out on the track from Group B and breaks the 28 second mark with a time of 27.779 seconds.

From Group B; Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain will all move on to round two of qualifying.  Kyle Larson topped the board with a time of 27.324 seconds. 

Michael McDowell is the first driver on the track in round two and posts a time of 27.867 seconds.

With a time of 27.62 seconds around the one mile track, Kyle Larson will sit on the pole and bring the field to green with Denny Hamlin starting alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the United Rentals Work United 500:
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Brad Keselowski
Christopher Bell
Ross Chastain
Michael McDowell
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Erik Jones
Daniel Suarez
Tyler Reddick
Martin Truex Jr
Ty Gibbs
Kevin Harvick
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Alex Bowman
Bubba Wallace
Austin Cindric
Chris Buescher
AJ Allmendinger
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Preece
Justin Haley
Harrison Burton
Corey LaJoie
Todd Gilliland
Austin Dillon
Aric Almirola
Noah Gragson
BJ McLeod
Zane Smith
Ty Dillon
Cody Ware

Danica Patrick returns to join Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the FOX broadcast booth for today’s race.

Zane Smith will have to start the race from the back of the field after the crew made some unapproved adjustments to the car.

Stage one of the race is 60 laps longs, stage two is 125 laps with stage three lasting 127 laps.  The drivers can run 90 to 95 laps on a single load of fuel and will have to make a pit stop for fuel in stages two and three.  Drivers will be looking for fresh tires every chance they can get.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and jumps out in front as the drivers get spread out three and four wide through the field.

Lap two, William Byron comes up on the inside and passes Kyle Larson for the lead.

Lap three, the top five are William Byron, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Brad Keselowski.

Lap four, William Byron has a hald second lead on Kyl Larson; Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap six, William Byron holds a half second lead on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Chrsitopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 10, William Byron has increased his lead to over half a second.

Lap 12, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr make contact and Logano gets loose but saves the car and the track stays green.

Lap 13, William Byron continues to lead the race with Kyle Larson in second; Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 20, William Byron has incread his lead of nearly two seconds on Kyle Larson with Denny Hamlin in third; Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Since the race start lap times have dropped over half a second.

Lap 23, William Byron already has a two second lead on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Christopher Bell round out the top five with little movement in the field.  NASCAR changed the aero packages for the short tracks to increase racing and passing; but with the exception of William Byron passing teammate Kyle Larson for the lead, there has been little passing so far.

Several of the drivers hare having handling issues in their cars.

Lap 28, William Byron continues to increase his lead and is now nearly three seconds in front of Kyle Larson.

Lap 35, William Byron has a lead of over three seconds on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 38, seven spots is the biggest move so far and that is form Chris Buescher who is currently in 14th place.

Lap 40, William Byron’s lead is down to under three seconds over Kyle Larson with Denny Hamlin in third; Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 43, William Byron’s lead is now down to two and a half seconds on Kyle Larson.

Lap 48, William Byron’s lead over Kyle Larson is now under two and a half seconds; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Ten laps remain in stage one with William Byron has a two and a half second lead on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

There are 27 cars on the lead lpa.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr runs along the wall and gets a bit of a scrape.

Lap 57, William Byron has led all but one lap so far and is over two seconds in front of Kyle Larson; Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five with 23 cars on the lead lap.

After leading all but one lap, William Byron wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Ross Chastain
Kevin Harvick
Brad Keselowski
Kyle Busch

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson edging out William Byron to win the race off of pit road.

AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon were caught speeding on pit road.  The wheel nut came off on Tyler Reddick’s car but since he did not leave his pit box there is no penalty, only a long stop.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on the inside with William Byron on the outside on lap 69 and the drivers quickly spread out across the track with Kyle Larson taking the lead.

Lap 70, William Byron battles with Kyle Larson for the lead, but so far Larson holds him off.

Lap 71, the top five are Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain.

Lap 72, Melon Man Ross Chastain battles with Christopher Bell for fourth.

Ninth place driver Kyle Busch’s crew asked if he is having fun and Busch answers yes.

Lap 75, Kyle Laron has a lead of over half a second on William Byron; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 84, Kyle Larson holds on to the lead over teammate William Byron; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.

Lap 88, Kyle Larson holds a lead of over half a second on William Byron.  After leading over 200 laps in Las Vegas last week, the Hendrick Motorsports duo have led every lap so far in today’s race.

Lap 90, Kyle Larson’s lead is now one second over William Byron; Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 95, there are 24 cars on the lead lap with BJ McLeod the only driver out of the race.

Lap 96, William Byron is closing the gap on Kyle Larson’s lead; Larson is now less than half a second in front.

Lap 104, Kyle Larson has a lead of over half a second on William Byron; Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.  Kevin Harvick has tgotten around Brad Keselowski for sixth.

Lap 105, one third of the race is done and the only caution has been for the ed of stage one.

Kevin Harvick passes Ross Chastain for fifth.

Lap 115, Kyle Larson has increased his lead to nearly a second on William Byron with Christopher Bell in third; Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.  Leader Kyle Larson has reached the slower traffic.  There are 24 cars on the lead lap but there are no cars just one lap down.

Lap 118, Denny Hamlin is the first driver to come down pit road for a green flag pit stop.

Lap 119, leaders come down pit road for their green flag pit stops; Ross Chastain is the new leader.

Ross Chastain comes down pit road for his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Brad Keselowski.

Lap 121, Brad Keselowski comes down pit road for his pit stop and Kyle Larson retakes the lead.

Lap 127, Kyle Larson has increased his lead to over a second.

Michael McDowell, Erik Jones, Austin Cindric, and Kyle Busch were all caught speeding on pit road.  Kyle Busch also had an uncontrolled tire on pit road for a second penalty.

Lap 133, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on William Byron; Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Ross Chastain round out the top five with 19 cars on the lead lap.

Austin Dillon makes an unscheduled trip down pit road and is now two laps down.

The first caution flag comes out on lap 138 for an on track incident when Aric Almirola gets into the wall after a tire explodes on the track and is rolling down the track.  Almirola is on pit road for repairs.

Even though they were on pit road a short time ago, drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road.  Almirola will be penalized two laps for the tire coming off on the racing surface.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 147 from the inside lane with William Byron on the outside.  Larson gets out in front to hold on to the lead.  Fourteen drivers took the wave around on the caution.

Lap 148, Kyle Larson leads the race with William Byron nearly a half second back; Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.  Kyle Busch is back on the lead lap in 20th place.

There are 23 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 154, Kyle Larson continues to dominate the race with William Byron in second; Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 158, Kyle Larson has a near one second lead on William Byron; Kevin Harvick is a second and a half back in third with Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin rounding out the top five.

Lap 162, 24 laps remain in stage two, Kyle Larson holds a near one second lead on William Byron.  Larson has dominated the entire weekend – leading practice, sitting on the pole, and dominating the lead of the race.

Lap 170, Kyle Larson is still out in front with a one second lead on William Byron; Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.  Josh Berry is in 15th as a substitute driver in the number nine car.  Pit reports say that even though he is at home, Chase Elliott is still very much a part of the team and is trying to help out when he can.

Three laps to go in stage two; Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on William Byron; Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Tyler Reddick round out  the top five.

Kyle Larson wins stage two for the Hendrick Motorsports sweep.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Kevin Harvick
Brad Keselowski
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Ross Chastain
Chase Briscoe

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson edging out for the lead with Kevin Harvick taking second.

Ty Gibbs was caught speeding on pit road.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 195 from the inside lane with Kevin Harvick on the outside.  Drivers spread out four and five wide across the track with Kyle Larson in the lead.

Lap 197, Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly half a second on Kevin Harvick; William Byron, Brad Keselowski, and Christopher Bell rounding out the top five.

Lap 205, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Kevin Harvick; William Byron, Brad Keselowski, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 213, Kyle Larson has Kevin Harvick; William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

With 91 laps to go, William Byron has fallen back to over five seconds behind leader Kyle Larson with Kevin Harvick between them.

Lap 235, Kyle Larson has led 170 laps so far in a dominating day on the track.  Larson has a lead of over two seconds on Kevin Harvick; William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez are the only two drivers to have finished the first three races in the top 10; Bowman is currently in the tenth place with Suarez in 14th.

With 70 laps remaining in the race, Josh Berry was the first driver to come down pit road for his green flag pit stop.

The drivers are beginning to make their green flag pit stops.

Spa 246, William Byron is the first of the leaders to come down pit road for his green flag pit stop.

Kyle Larson makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Bubba Wallace.

Erik Jones is the only driver yet to make a pit stop.

With 65 laps to go, Erik Jones leads the race with Kyle Larson in second; Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, and Will Byron round out the top five.

Daniel Suarez was caught speeding on pit road.

Sixty one laps to go, Erik Jones still has the lead with Kyle Larson in second; Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, and William Byron round out the top five.

Fifty-seven laps to go, Erik Jones leads the race but has still not made his pit stop.  Kyle Larson has pulled up to less than three seconds behind Jones; Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, and William Byron round out the top five.

It has been 10 years since Kevin Harvick has finished a race outside of the top 10.  He has nine Phoenix wins and over 1,900 laps led.  Harvick has never had a DNF (did not finish) at Phoenix.

Just 49 laps remain in the race; Kyle Larson has caught and passed Erik Jones for the lead with Kevin Harvick less than a second behind; Erik Jones, Christopher Bell, and William Byron round out the top five.

With44 to go, Kevin Harvick passes Kyle Larson for the lead!  Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Erik Jones round out the top five.

Forty to go, Kevin Harvick has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Just 33 laps to go, Kevin Harvick now has a lead of nearly two seconds on Kyle Larson; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.  Erik Jones finally makes his green flag pit stop.

There are 22 cars on the lead lap.

With 26 laps to go, Kevin Harvick has a two second lead on Kyle Larson; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

With 21 laps to go, there are only 19 cars on the lead lap with AJ Allmendinger the last car on the lead lap.  Kyle Larson is now over three seconds behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Seventeen to go, Kevin Harvick has a lead of over three seconds on Kyle Larson; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five with 18 cars on the lead lap.

Twelve to go, Kevin Harvick has pulled out to a lead of over five seconds on Kyle Larson.

Harrison Burton brings out the caution flag when he spins out but quickly recovers and gets moving again with a flat tire.  There is some debris on the track.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires.

Several drivers took only two tires while leader Kevin Harvick took four and lost several spots coming off of pit road.

Kyle Larson was the first car off of pit road on two fresh tires; Kevin Harvick came out in seventh.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with just three laps remaining in the race from the inside lane.  Drivers spread out four and five wide.  Kyle Larson takes the lead.  AJ Allmendinger brings out the caution flag after some contact with Ty Gibbs.  Noah Gragson was also involved.

The race goes into overtime.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green/white/checker overtime finish from the inside lane.  Drivers spread out, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick battle for the lead with William Byron taking the lead.

William Byron takes the white flag.

William Byron wins his second race in a row!  This is the first top five finish for William Byron at Phoenix.

Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain make contact on the track and end up the last cars on the lead lap.

The unofficial results of the United Rentals Work United 500:
William Byron
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Larson
Kevin Harvick
Christopher Bell
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Busch
Alex Bowman
Josh Berry
Joey Logano
Ryan Preece
Michael McDowell
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Austin Dillon
Martin Truex Jr
Brad Keselowski
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
AJ Allmendinger
Erik Jones
Daniel Suarez
Denny Hamlin
Ross Chastain
Austin Cindric
Corey LaJoie
Justin Haley
Ty Gibbs
Noah Gragson
Ty Dillon
Zane Smith
Todd Gilliland
Aric Almirola
Cody Ware
Harrison Burton
BJ McLeod